LAS VEGAS — Democratic campaign officials cut off interviews with attendees at an event featuring Vice President Kamala Harris in Nevada on Friday as soon as the attendees expressed doubts about President Biden’s fitness for the job.
The interview intervention came less than 24 hours after party leaders began to panic following Biden’s disastrous debate performance on Thursday night in Atlanta.
Biden’s campaign has insisted he will remain in the race, but Democrats are reportedly exploring ways to remove the 81-year-old president from the campaign trail.
A representative report from Harris’ press office included a report by New York Times reporter Simon Levien on a Hispanic voter outreach event attended by Harris and several Democratic politicians, including Nevada Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and New Mexico Governor Michelle Grisham.
Spin control was in place even before the vice president took to the stage.
“Cleo Calvo Platero, Biden’s deputy communications director in Nevada, requested that the interview end once voters began criticizing the campaign,” Levine wrote.
Voter Amy Nelson called the debate “terrible” and Calvo Platero interrupted it by saying, “You can’t tell me there’s no one better,” according to the Times.
According to Levine, Calvo Platero said, “We’re at a Joe Biden event, so I’m going to interrupt you here, sorry.”
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The report said undecided voter Stephen Stubbs criticized Biden’s “intellectual acuity” and asked, “Who’s running the country?”
Stubbs said he expects Harris to be the nominee if Biden steps down, saying, “Let’s nominate Kamala.”
Again, a campaign official interjected: “Sorry, but we’re going to stop here. Hopefully, this is a Biden event. Is that OK?”
Harris said at the event that Trump “is not fit to be president. [debate] “I have the vice president’s endorsement on this stage.” Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence, has yet to endorse his former boss this year.
Harris argued that the election won’t be decided on “one night in June.”
According to the vice president’s official schedule, he will campaign in the upscale neighborhood of Park City, Utah, 20 minutes from Salt Lake City, before returning to Los Angeles on Friday evening.
